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Hey Dionne, this is Jane Cahane from London Writers Salon – was great to meet you last night in the memoir session and get the link to this amazing blog. Really like your tone, style, 'alter ego' and inclusion of some great tracks (eg β€˜Real’ – one of my fave disco funk tracks, certainly got me boogying!).

I've also written a couple of blog posts on mental health (sub-theme self-care/wellness) on my own blog, www.smallwriteratlarge.com (https://smallwriteratlarge.com/2022/01/10/2-mental-health-and-work/, https://smallwriteratlarge.com/2021/11/27/mental-health-a-personal-journey/ and https://smallwriteratlarge.com/2021/11/27/1-what-is-mental-health/); have also intended to write further posts about mental health and creativity + mental health and faith, but as you can see if you visit them, some part of me is still stuck in journalism/long-form feature mode, so I'm aware I need to break out of that – and very grateful for the inspiration of your own approach in this blog.

I kind of have the same issue with two different versions of a personal essay/memoir I wrote last Sunday (on my four traumatic experiences with guns in the US), and was hoping to find a publisher for, which is why I joined that group – also because I, too, have a plan of writing a full autobiography/memoir at some point, so I was very encouraged to hear you say you'd been doing yours a couple of decades now, and have also experimented with telling the stories via vignettes and short (fiction) stories, as that idea had occurred to me too.

Anyway, I'll plan to subscribe for further inspiration, but as I'm already fighting email avalanches, we'll have to see how that goes... meanwhile, thanks again for an inspiring read. YOU GO GIRL!!!

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WOW WOW WOW. So much for me to think about and be grateful for in this, my friend. Thank you! YES to not knowing! YES to room for everyone. I adore you and this is awesome.

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Super interesting read Dionne! Really encapsulates all of the *sticky* feelings that come up in the wellness space. And I love the idea of allowing the not knowing... and using that to create space for possibility.

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